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Showcasing Amazing TechFri, 15 May 2015 20:51:31 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationThanks for stopping by.I Scared The Pants Off My Friends With a $22 VR Device And a Horror Filmhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/LFTNDqMomLg/virtual-reality-horror-films.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/virtual-reality-horror-films.html#commentsFri, 15 May 2015 20:51:31 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5781You’re sitting in someone’s living room. It’s mid afternoon, and you’re having tea, chatting with a woman who looks vaguely familiar. You look around, and observe an ornate rug, and the leather couch you’re sitting on. Suddenly, you hear a rattling noise. You turn to find that the teacups on the table in front of you are shaking, as are the walls, and the...

You’re sitting in someone’s living room. It’s mid afternoon, and you’re having tea, chatting with a woman who looks vaguely familiar. You look around, and observe an ornate rug, and the leather couch you’re sitting on.

Suddenly, you hear a rattling noise. You turn to find that the teacups on the table in front of you are shaking, as are the walls, and the chandelier above your head. The creepy, famous actress in front of you says ominously “They’re here”. And the world goes black.

Virtual Reality horror films are here, and they are much creepier and more immersive than anything you’ve ever seen. They’re more real. They’re more detailed. They’re more immersive than anything ever previously produced.

Today my C1-Glass Virtual Reality glasses arrived, and I decided to test them out on Lionsgate’s “Insidious VR”, a virtual reality experience based on the “Insidious” movie franchise.

It was absolutely terrifying. I let several friends test it out as well, and it scared the pants off of them. Each one literally jumped in the air after certain scares.

The experience starts in an eery living room, with Elise Rainier sitting across from you, in three dimensions. As if you were in the room, you can look around, from floor to ceiling, as you listen to her talk.

The lights flicker, the chandelier burns out, and suddenly, you’re in a black void, surrounded by creepy ghost voice. Then, some more scares happen. I won’t spoil it any further, but it is a wild experience.

Until I tried Insidious, it never occurred to me how disruptive VR is for film. Now that I’ve seen it, I can say it will disrupt film as much as, if not more than television, color, or computers.

VR is an entirely new medium, allowing for a new hybrid of a video game and a film, something participatory, immersive, but with a set script. It’s like sitting in on a play, but standing on the stage, being an unwitting participant to the performance.

I have a feeling it’s incredibly expensive to produce VR horror right now, but having seen it, I’m not sure I can ever watch a horror “film” again. VR is just a level above.

Until today, I thought that VR’s biggest application was in education (I mean who doesn’t want a class field trip to Mars?), but now, I’m confident that VR entertainment will be unbelievably popular, and unbelievably immersive.

The C1 Glass, a Google-Cardboard-compatible device

A Very VR Future

Imagine the movie theater, made for VR. Where you and your buddy can be the stars of your own buddy comedy. Where you can experience that war movie as if you were fighting alongside the main character. Where you can experience love, death, and imaginary worlds, in person.

VR is going to be transformative, and apps like these are probably the best example of that yet.

The most amazing thing about the Insidious trailer, and similar experiences, is that they are accessible. With a standard iOS or Android device, a pair of headphones, and a $20 pair of special glasses, you can experience a whole new world. You don’t need some $1,500 piece of hardware to enjoy V.R. I’m incredibly excited about VR. Are you? Tweet your feelings.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/virtual-reality-horror-films.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/virtual-reality-horror-films.htmlA Wearable That Fights Pain — Intelligentlyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/AhkwBxwsYMU/pain-relief-wearable.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/pain-relief-wearable.html#commentsThu, 14 May 2015 04:39:03 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5777I play tons of golf: Nine holes daily. I love it, but carrying a 20 pound bag three miles every day takes its toll. Everything hurts, from my wrist, to my feet. Maybe one day we’ll eliminate pain, but for now, at least we can make injuries hurt less, with wearables like Cur (the subject of this article). Cur (pronounced “cure”) is a wireless, wearable...

Cur’s pain relief comes from a little device built into a patch. You place the patch on what’s hurting, and it delivers targeted electrical shocks to cancel out pain signals.

TENS is far from new, but Cur’s makers claim that an array of sensors and a layer of intelligence makes the Cur more effective, and easier to use than other TENS machines (it’s definitely better looking).

What struck me the most about Cur was its size. Roughly the size of a large bandage, and wireless, Cur just looks a lot less threatening than other TENS devices. From a usability standpoint, Cur is also much faster out of the box. Within seconds, it automatically senses your pain, and implements a treatment plan. With a smartphone app, you can adjust treatment via bluetooth.

Courtesy: Cur

The Cur is pretty pricey, ringing in at $300. Besides the sticker price, you’re also going to need to pony up cash for replacements for the gel bands that hold the Cur in place (they last around two weeks a piece, according to the company).

Still, if Cur works (which I don’t doubt it does), this will sell well. Pain is a universal problem, and a problem that people are universally willing to spend large sums of money to solve.

I love medical wearables, and it’s exciting to see new OTC devices like this coming to market.

You don’t need this. Nobody needs one. And yet tens of thousands of people are buying them. So-called “selfie buttons“. Teeny, tiny bluetooth buttons that allows you to take selfies (and other photos) on your smartphone from up to 60 feet away. They’re going mega-viral.

That’s why I thought you’d like to know that Groupon is offering selfie buttons for $20 off of their regular price. For the next week, the “Selfie Button” will run you just under $8 from Groupon .

The “Selfie Button” will run you just under $8 from Groupon, and has a range of around 60 feet. Click To Tweet

I’m not much of a selfier, but bluetooth buttons can also be really useful for other things, so I’ll definitely be placing my order this week.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/you-really-dont-need-this-8-selfie-button-but-youre-still-going-to-buy-it.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/you-really-dont-need-this-8-selfie-button-but-youre-still-going-to-buy-it.htmlYou Can Register Two Awesome Domains For Free Todayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/yJ-f11skDck/free-domains.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/free-domains.html#commentsThu, 07 May 2015 00:25:08 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5756Back in the 1990s, .Com domains were free, and almost everything was available. Those days are gone, but for today only, you can experience something similar. A domain registrar is giving out .Party and .Webcam domains for free. Go pick one up, while they’re still available, and don’t forget to tell your friends (via Twitter). How To Register These Domains: (.Party): Good examples: Democratic.party. House.party....

]]>Back in the 1990s, .Com domains were free, and almost everything was available.

Those days are gone, but for today only, you can experience something similar. A domain registrar is giving out .Party and .Webcam domains for free. Go pick one up, while they’re still available, and don’t forget to tell your friends (via Twitter).

How To Register These Domains:

(.Party):

Good examples: Democratic.party. House.party. Birthday.party.

How to register: Go here, and choose your name. Enter the code “HappyHour” at checkout to bring the price down to 0.

(.webcam):

Good examples: Buya.webcam. Fixyour.webcam. Michaels.webcam.

How to register: Go here, and choose your name. Enter the code “Megapixel” at checkout to bring the price down to 0.

You can register .Party and .webcam domains for free today!Click To Tweet

YOUR Email address:

Questions?

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/free-domains.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/free-domains.htmlNow’s Your Last Chance To Buy Lunch With Tim Cook (If You Can Afford It)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/lar-Kt8Xgck/tim-cook-lunch.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/tim-cook-lunch.html#commentsTue, 05 May 2015 01:48:07 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5741Love Apple? Got $250,000 lying around? You could buy 10 top-of-line Applewatches, or you could buy a lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook, and two tickets to an upcoming Apple Keynote (plus he might just throw in an Applewatch for free). Auction site Charitybuzz is once again auctioning off the opportunity to lunch with Apple’s 2nd most famous CEO. This time seems to be a...

]]>Love Apple? Got $250,000 lying around? You could buy 10 top-of-line Applewatches, or you could buy a lunch with Apple CEO Tim Cook, and two tickets to an upcoming Apple Keynote (plus he might just throw in an Applewatch for free).

Tim Cook at work

Auction site Charitybuzz is once again auctioning off the opportunity to lunch with Apple’s 2nd most famous CEO. This time seems to be a bargain compared to the last time this item was auctioned, in 2013, when it went for $610,000.

Bidding currently stands at $200,000. There’s still plenty of time for wealthy bidders to raise that price though, with 42 hours remaining in the auction.

The budget-conscious billionaire will be happy to know that the cost of lunch is included in the item. According to the description, the lunch meeting will be about one hour, and take place at or near Apple’s Cupertino California California headquarters.

Our guess at what a $200,000 lunch looks like

The hefty sum will go towards the Robert F. Kennedy Center For Justice and Human Rights, which “works to realize Robert Kennedy’s dream of a peaceful and just world by advancing human rights”. If you’ve recently won the lotto, sold your startup, or saved an elderly oil heiress’s dog from a burning building, you can place your bid right here.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/tim-cook-lunch.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/05/tim-cook-lunch.html3D-Printed Electronics Have Arrivedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/Y-Z7pJEQ82s/3d-printing-electronics.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/01/3d-printing-electronics.html#commentsSun, 18 Jan 2015 03:37:02 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5722Section 1: The Drone Printer “ You can’t print an iPhone (yet).” I wrote that in my e-book on 3D printingjust six months ago. It was part of an entire section dedicated to what 3D printers couldn’t do. That section gets more and more out-of-date every day, and yesterday that was especially true. Yesterday Voxel8, a company founded and run by several Harvard and...

Section 1: The Drone Printer

“ You can’t print an iPhone (yet).”

I wrote that in my e-book on 3D printingjust six months ago. It was part of an entire section dedicated to what 3D printers couldn’t do. That section gets more and more out-of-date every day, and yesterday that was especially true.

Yesterday Voxel8, a company founded and run by several Harvard and MIT Professors, unveiled a developer kit for a 3D electronic-device printer shipping out in late 2015.

With the kit, engineers and designers will be able to print drones, phones, and (RC) automobiles, all in one piece, with electronics built in. The printer uses a modular design to print both circuitry and plastic parts. One printer head extrudes PLA plastic, building the bulk of the object, while another head prints out circuitry using a very conductive ink.

As the printing process goes along, the printer automatically pauses (thanks to some nifty software from Autodesk) to allow the designer to insert electrical components like motors and resistors into the print. Once the component is placed, the printer automagically resumes printing where it left off.

Printing Batteries

In the future Voxel8 plans to expand the printer’s capabilities, developing new “inks” that can print resistors, sensors, and even lithium ion battery cells. This will also make the printing process much more efficient, because designers will not have to wait around for the printer to stop so that they could place components.

Section 2: So Why Does This Matter?

The Voxel8 Printer

Voxel8’s introductory printer is beautiful, but odds are that you won’t be adding this printer to your home decor any time soon. Pre-orderers who want the first edition of the Developer kit will have to pony up $8999, plus shipping.

Despite the fact that you won’t own one for a while, you should take note of this printer. The 3D printer industry has been stagnating lately, because the market has gotten so competitive that the few users who can afford 3D printers can’t decide which small company to buy from.

This printer is important because this is your future. Eventually the price for circuit-printing printers will come down, and we will see electronics shops that print phones in the store, rather than buying them from a 3rd world sweat shop. I expect that within a decade average users may even be able to customize the shape and color of their phone to their liking.

Even farther in the future (15–20 years), circuitry printing will make 3D printers more attractive in the home. Because of their limited capabilities, printers today just aren’t worth the hassle for 99.99% of people. With electronics, they are much more useful. Lost your TV remote? Print a new one. Your iPhone charger broke? Print a new one.Your kid is bored? Buy a toy design online (maybe a drone?) and print it out for him to play with. No big deal. This is your future!

With the addition of circuitry and multi-materials printing, a drop in the price point, and (hopefully) a drop in the noise level, I expect that 3D printers will one day find a special place in the American home, playing a more important role than things like the telephone, the refrigerator, or the dishwasher ever have.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/01/3d-printing-electronics.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2015/01/3d-printing-electronics.htmlQuick Review: Amazon Fire TV Stickhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/vCfFv_51nqQ/fire-tv-stick.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/fire-tv-stick.html#commentsSun, 21 Dec 2014 19:48:54 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5703From the outside, Amazon’s new fire TV stick looks cutting edge. Its sleek matte black design, and beautiful curves make it the most attractive smart-TV stick out there. Inside, things are very different. The Fire Stick’s experience bears more resemblance to the original smart TVs of 2010 than to modern devices like Google’s Chromecast or Apple’s Apple TV. Apps are hidden away in menus....

]]>From the outside, Amazon’s new fire TV stick looks cutting edge. Its sleek matte black design, and beautiful curves make it the most attractive smart-TV stick out there. Inside, things are very different. The Fire Stick’s experience bears more resemblance to the original smart TVs of 2010 than to modern devices like Google’s Chromecast or Apple’s Apple TV. Apps are hidden away in menus. Even content for Amazon’s Prime program is a few taps away from the home screen. There’s no universal search, so in order to find what you’re looking for, you will have to go menu-hunting.

Given that the Fire TV Stick’s only purpose is to provide easy access to content, it’s remarkably difficult to actually access anything. Google’s Chromecast allows you to find shows, movies and music right in each service’s app and website, like Netflix.com or the Pandora iPhone app. With the tap of a button, you can then “cast” shows to your TV, and control things like the volume from your computer or smartphone.

Navigating through the Fire TV Stick is decidely more complicated. Moving through menus requires the use of either an included remote, or a free smartphone app. Both look as sleek as the Fire Stick itself–, but neither is ideal for typing or navigating. On the remote, typing requires use the remote’s click wheel to navigate to each individual letter on an on-screen keyboard.

Without auto-complete, typing the name of something like “Singing In The Rain” could take 2-3 minutes, and that’s unacceptable for those looking for some quick entertainment. Even worse, I tried the same task on a smart TV remote from four years ago, and navigating was easier! In contrast, the same task takes under 30 seconds with the Chromecast. I particularly love being able to search for shows on Hulu.com and send them right to my Chromecast.

Chromecast and Apple TV also have one killer feature which Amazon could not/did not replicate: Mirroring. Mirroring allows you to send a website from your web browser to your TV. This is great for giving presentations, family slideshows, or watching videos from sites that don’t release a Chromecast-specific app. Personally, I use mirroring to send workout videos from the Golf Channel’s website to my TV as I work out. Google isn’t alone in offering mirroring. Apple’s Apple TV offers a more advanced mirroring, allowing you to send your screen wireleslly from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad to your TV.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/fire-tv-stick.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/fire-tv-stick.htmlHe Built A Satellite in his garage. Now He’s Using It To Photograph Earth Like Never Beforehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/qxu5pd4tsKo/space-startup-of-the-month.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/space-startup-of-the-month.html#commentsWed, 03 Dec 2014 04:32:57 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5684This is a part of our ongoing “Startup Of The Month” Award Series. To nominate a startup. Tweet your nomination to @Msitver. Space. Why is it the final frontier? Mostly because it’s so costly to explore. We pay $70 million per astronaut to fly them up to the ISS on a Russian Spacecraft, and a typical satellite can cost $50-400 million to send up...

Space. Why is it the final frontier? Mostly because it’s so costly to explore. We pay $70 million per astronaut to fly them up to the ISS on a Russian Spacecraft, and a typical satellite can cost $50-400 million to send up into orbit. But what if sending a satellite into space weren’t expensive? What if we could see our world in real-time, for a fraction of the price?

That’s where Planet Labs comes in. We’re proud to name Planet Labs our December Startup of the Month, but we’re even more thrilled to bring you their incredible story. In 2012, Will Marshall, a NASA engineer at the time, started building a satellite in his suburban California garage. In two years, he has raised $65.1 million, built a company, designed a cost-effective mass produced satellite, and sent over 30 such satellites into space. He’s also started doing something that no one has done before. He’s started to photograph parts of earth on a daily basis, so we can see global changes in real time.

As one NASA Engineer described it to me (and as my physics education confirms), rocket launches are a war against gravity. The more mass you add, the more difficult it is to pull something in and out of orbit. That’s why launching a satellite into space has traditionally been so expensive. One recently launched satellite weighed in at 3 tons!

Marshall’s “Aha” moment came when he realized that with the advancements in solar power, computing size and efficiency, and cameras, he could build a network of lean, efficient satellites for next to nothing (in space-industry terms).

Meet The Dove – A Shoebox Sized Satellite

A “Dove” with Comm Antenna Out

Just a few months after launch, Marshall and his friends built a working prototype of a simple satellite the size of a shoe box, known as the “Dove”, which features a super-high-resolution camera that can photograph vast swaths of land in detail, communications technology to beam the images straight down to earth, and solar panels to power the whole rig. So far, Planet Labs has launched about 30 of these into space, and has built “the world’s largest constellation of imaging satellites”, allowing them to photograph much of earth’s surface on a daily basis, as opposed to a yearly basis.

Agility- Recovering From An Explosion, and Moving Forward

Perhaps most impressive is how efficiently they’ve designed their manufacturing process. When an Antares rocket exploded on launch in October destroying 26 of their satellites, the Planet team built, tested, and delivered another two Doves within nine days, so that they could get the satellites on the next ride available to space.

Making Real-time Space Image data More Accessible

We also chose Planet Labs because of their mission, and their actions. Planet has built an API (Application Programming Interface) allowing developers, scientists, and hobbyists to make use of their daily archive of the earth in photographs, and so far they’ve made that freely available. They’re making their imagery available to the masses, rather than to a limited set of subscribers, and they’re trying to use their data for a higher purpose.

Marshall posed the question in his recent TED talk (shared above), “How can you solve earth’s problems if you can’t even see them?”. Imagine what we’ll be able to do when we have access to daily images of our earth. We can study the climate, search for hidden WMDs, or watch the ice caps melt in real-time. I try to showcase companies and products that I feel might have a real impact on everyday life, and I’m confident that Planet Labs can.

Planet Labs is also paving the way for other small-satellite based networks. Elon Musk, for example, is working with scientists to develop tiny satellites that can together allow for global internet access. The US government is also reportedly working on a small network for espionage use.

A Planet Labs Engineer assembles a Dove

Conclusion

In an industry so hell-bent on developing technology for the future, it’s exhilarating to see a company producing real results today, and on a shoe-string budget (once again, 70 people and $70 million is shoe-string in in Space-industry terms). I look forward to watching what comes out of Planet Labs next.

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/space-startup-of-the-month.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/12/space-startup-of-the-month.htmlWhy I’m Thankful To Google (And Why You Should Be Too)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/wrw3K-T-U3I/thankful-for-google.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/11/thankful-for-google.html#commentsThu, 27 Nov 2014 18:44:16 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5673I could write an article about why I’m thankful for Google’s products, but I’m not going to. No. What I’m thankful for, is what Google is doing for millions of people who will probably never be paying customers. A quick preview of why I’m thankful: Bringing information to oppressed peoples Saving children from slavery and Ebola Bringing better tools to the sick and needy...

]]>I could write an article about why I’m thankful for Google’s products, but I’m not going to. No. What I’m thankful for, is what Google is doing for millions of people who will probably never be paying customers.

A quick preview of why I’m thankful:

Bringing information to oppressed peoples

Saving children from slavery and Ebola

Bringing better tools to the sick and needy

And More

21st century diplomacy

Google believes in the power of the internet, and they’re willing to defy the US government to spread that power. Led by Google Ideas Chief Jared Cohen and executive Chairman/former CEO Eric Schmidt, Google has brought high-tech services to oppressed peoples around the globe. Google has essentially set up its own diplomatic organization, and taken steps to bring its services to Cuba, Iran, Syria, and even North Korea.

In August, Google released its Chrome browser to Cubans. This Wednesday, Google opened up its Google Play game store, and its analytics website-tracking service to the half a million internet-connected computers in Cuba. Because of embargo restrictions, Google is giving away every product it brings to Cuba for free. The move comes as little surprise to followers of Google Executive Chairman and longtime executive Eric Schmidt. Schmidt visited Cuba in June of this year, and wrote of it:

If Cuba is trapped in the 1950’s, the Internet of Cuba is trapped in the 1990s. About 20-25% of Cubans have phone lines but mostly subsidized land lines, and the cell phone infrastructure is very thin. Approximately 3-4% of Cubans have access to the Internet in internet cafes and in certain universities. The Internet is heavily censored and the infrastructure, which we toured, is made out of Chinese components. The “blockade” makes absolutely no sense to US interests: if you wish the country to modernize the best way to do this is to empower the citizens with smart phones (there are almost none today) and encourage freedom of expression and put information tools into the hands of Cubans directly.

If Schmidt is the public face, the man behind the curtain is Jared Cohen, a former State-Department official now running Google’s Ideas division, a global think tank. Cohen is famous for convincing Twitter to cancel a scheduled maintenance outage during the 2009 Iranian Presidential Elections, saving a tool that had become vital to the opposition movement’s organization.

Since Cohen started Google Ideas, he has shepherded top Google executives to North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and other oppressed or dangerous countries, to hold dialogues with governments, and consider how technology could improve the lives of the citizens in these countries. In a way, he has turned Google from a company, to a diplomatic power. In just a few years, Google has brought its Chrome browser, and other Google services to Iran, Cuba, and Syria. It also brought photo-sharing and Google Maps to Iran, and expanded its play stores to those countries as well.

Their North Korean trip was particularly interesting. Despite protests from the US government, who referred to the trip as “ill-advised”, Schmidt accompanied Cohen, former Governor Bill Richardson, and other Google executives on a trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the formal name for North Korea). Inside of North Korea, Schmidt reportedly met with students and regular people, as well as just governmental officials, to discuss the power and the importance of bringing the free and open internet to Korea. This is a very unusual step in a country where foreigners have been arrested for simply bringing in bibles. Schmidt is also one of the highest-level executives to ever visit the DPRK.

Right now, internet in the DPRK is limited to only the government, students, and the military, and under 1 million people own cellphones, but Schmidt and Cohen are trying to change that. Thanks to their efforts, some students in the DPRK now have access to Google. In fact, Cohen reportedly took hold of the computer, and Googled “New York City” to show the students where he lived. Google didn’t take the easy choice. They took a risk, but they did it for an important cause, and it seems to be making a difference.

People-trafficking and terrorism

Google has also made strides in other humanitarian areas.

Google Ideas recently helped to set up a network of human-trafficking hotlines to help shut down slave-rings, and free millions of people. They’ve built an entire digital toolset designed to study and fight violent extremism. Google has even helped newly-formed governments and countries craft better constitutions through an app called Constitute. Google seems genuinely interested in doing good with its influence and profits, and it’s already making a big difference.

DDOS Protection for rebels and thought-leaders

DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are a big problem. They’re cheap and easy to create, and they can shut down even the most well-protected of websites. Even worse, they’ve often been used by rogue governments and dictators to silence dissident voices. Now, Google has released a tool called Project Shield to help protect such voices from being silenced. Using their massive infrastructure, Google is helping to spread free speech the world over.

Google’s philanthropic efforts do not end there. Through Google.org, Google donates $100 million in cash and over $1 billion in products annually towards tasks like fighting Ebola, empowering women, and improving education.

New devices to change lives

Google, through its stealthy Google X Lab has also been working on devices to change the lives of people with disabilities, and people without access to educational resources. Google has built a contact lens for the painful, instantaneous measure of glucose levels in diabetes patients, and they are currently working on medical certification. Google has also developed a smartphone for blind people, helping to make their lives more accessible.

In addition, Google has been working on an ambitious Project called Loon, which uses weather balloons to create a worldwide network of internet access, bringing the web to people who have never had access before. These products are niche, and they probably will not bring Google in much revenue. They’re expensive gambles, but they have transformative possibilities, which is why it’s so fantastic that Google is pursuing them.

Google is first and foremost a company, but one with a heart

I’m generally not a believer in corporate morality. How can something comprised of thousands of people have values?

In this case, I believe in it. Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jared Cohen, and Eric Schmidt have done so much incredible work towards spreading access to education and healthcare, and stopping evil, and I’m very thankful for it. They really do live up to their motto of “Don’t Be Evil!”.

What are you thankful for?

]]>http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/11/thankful-for-google.html/feed0http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/11/thankful-for-google.htmlArduino Uno | Best Holiday Gifts of 2014http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAppStoreChronicle/~3/AI2X41WFFc0/arduino-uno.html
http://www.appstorechronicle.com/2014/11/arduino-uno.html#commentsFri, 21 Nov 2014 21:06:24 +0000http://www.appstorechronicle.com/?p=5663Here’s a holiday review of the Arduino Uno, and a basic guide to buying and using one. Building things is satisfying. It just feels great to turn on a device you’ve designed and assembled yourself, and watch it work. If you’re looking to give someone that type of satisfaction as a holiday gift this year, you might want to consider getting your special someone an Arduino...

]]>Here’s a holiday review of the Arduino Uno, and a basic guide to buying and using one.

An Arduino Uno

Building things is satisfying. It just feels great to turn on a device you’ve designed and assembled yourself, and watch it work. If you’re looking to give someone that type of satisfaction as a holiday gift this year, you might want to consider getting your special someone an Arduino Uno (or maybe you’ll just buy yourself one).

What’s an arduino, what can I do with it, and why is it a good gift??

Arduinos control things like motors, sensors, and lights based on programs that you create. Arduinos are micro-controllers, miniature computers that make it simple to create your own computer-controlled gadgets and gizmos. With the Uno, the best entry-level arduino, you can build anything from a blinking LED to a robotic arm, a tweet-activated plant-waterer, or self-driving car.

You code the programs using a basic programming language in Arduino’s IDE (integrated development environment), and with the push of a button your program is compiled and loaded onto your arduino via USB. From there, the program can run independently, disconnected from your computer, or it can take inputs from your computer.

Here’s an example of something I built with my Uno:

I recently create a simple program that allowed me to enter a number on my computer to set the angle that a servo motor turned to. The program was no more than a dozen lines of code, and building it was easy enough for a beginner such as myself.

Arduino is open-source – free to use and recreate – and because of this a robust community has gathered around it, making it very easy to get started. An active community of millions creates guides, provide help on forums, and shares projects. Within an hour you could make an LED blink and within a day you could program a fan motor to turn on when a temperature sensor hits a certain temperature. Within a week, you could build your own self-driving toy car with navigation and collision avoidance.

A drone controlled by the Arduino uno

I’m no electrical engineer, but thanks to Arduino I understand so much more about how electronics work than I did before. Building with arduino will allow you to explore how the things around you work, from resistor-based toasters to transistor radios and computers. Arduino liberates you from the present, and allows you to build your own futuristic gadgets.

1x Solderless breadboard with jumper cables $10: This allows you to easily and safely mock up electronics. Breadboards allow you to easily reuse electrical components, and plan out your ideas before testing them. Jumper cables make it easy to wire breadboards and connect to the arduino, and eliminate the need for wire cutters.

1-2x Hobby Motors $2: If you want to build robots, cars, or anything with motion, you’re going to need to understand motors and something called Pulse-Wave Modulation (PWM). These little motors are great for exercises involving motors, to learn how they work.

1x 500 Resistor Multi-pack $12: One of the few things that you’ll always need is resistors. Multi-packs like this make finding the perfect resistance value easy.

1x 50x LED Pack $2.35: LEDs (Light-emitting diodes) are prolific in beginner’s projects because they’re fun, they’re easy to use, and they prove points really well. Whether you’re building a lighting array or just doing some basic projects, you’re going to need a lot of LEDs.

Once you start building more advanced projects, you’re going to need some of the following, but none are necessary at the start: A big spool of wire. Some wire-cutters. Soldering equipment. Some capacitors, diodes, and transistors (TBD). Maybe a servo, or an LCD screen.